


He Eloped with Who?!

by orphan_account



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: 1 Year Later, Cute old Grunks, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Incest, M/M, Post-Finale, Stancest - Freeform, Twincest, Wedding Rings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 12:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6079722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mabel was staring, transfixed, at Stan's hand, and Dipper didn't realize until after they'd settled in for another great summer that she'd been fascinated by the shining gold ring on his finger. The thought of Stan getting married, especially without telling them, seemed extremely strange to the blooming teenager. As he flipped open the crisp pages of his new journal Dipper realized he and his sister had just found another huge mystery to solve. (Post-finale, spoilers!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	He Eloped with Who?!

The beginning of the summer is a blur for the Pines twins. The moment they are out of school their parents are already packing their bags and herding them onto the bus before taking off for their own vacation. Unlike the previous summer, though, Dipper and Mabel are not apprehensive about the next three months or so. Instead, their hearts pound with anticipation as they chatter excitedly on their bus ride to Gravity Falls.

It's been a long and stressful year, but compared to everything they'd done during the apocalypse and Weirdmaggedon they find that school is a cakewalk. Mabel becomes a social butterfly, making countless friends easily with her bright smile and optimism. Dipper, on the other hand, has learned to be more brave, so he reaches out to the science team and joins their ranks, easily surpassing them on tests and experiments.

During the entirety of the year they'd kept in touch with their Grunkles, which sometimes proved to be difficult since Stan and Ford had been out in the middle of nowhere until they moved back to the Mystery Shack for the summer. Sometimes their video chats were filled with static and the sound of roaring waves in the background, and Dipper and Mabel would eagerly ask questions about the older twins' life at sea.

"I punched a giant squid in the face," Stan had told them once, his eyes betraying how triumphant he felt about the whole ordeal.

Ford had rolled his eyes from his spot next to him. "Yes, and then he proceeded to brag about it for days, until he fell over the edge of the boat because his ego inflated too much."

Stan had sputtered and loudly protested to that, which made the middle schoolers laugh.

Over the year their calls became less frequent, but Stan and Ford were always happy to see how the twins were doing. Sometimes they'd set themselves up on different computers; Stan with Mabel and Ford with Dipper, and they'd swap stories or new scientific discoveries before switching off.

They'd kept in touch with Soos and Wendy too, of course. Soos had told them business was booming and even more people showed up for tours nowadays (to which Stan had pumped a fist and declared, "It's good business!"), and his relationship with Melody was growing even stronger now that they were practically living together. Wendy made them breathless with laughter when she shared her stories about high school and all the shenanigans she and her gang had gotten up to during the past year.

"It's not that bad if you make it fun," she admitted. "I think you guys'll like high school. Especially since you have each other to get through it!"

Now here they are, sitting on the bus, eagerly watching the scenery whoosh by as they draw nearer and nearer to that sleepy town in Oregon. Mabel pets Waddles, who is cuddled in her lap, and swings her feet back and forth beneath the seat. Dipper unconsciously follows her movements and soon their legs are swinging back and forth in perfect sync.

"We're going to do so many things this summer," Mabel gushes, her eyes practically sparkling. "Swimming, fishing, dressing up, having movie marathons..."

"Investigating ancient ruins, coming up with new inventions, playing D D and more D..." Dipper continues.

Mabel snorts and shoves his shoulder. "Only you would find that stuff fun, you nerd!"

"Yes, well," Dipper chuckles, straightening his hat. It's the one Wendy had given to him, and he'd hardly taken it off since. "We'll do it all together. It'll be fun! And this time we don't have to worry about Bill getting in our way."

Mabel smiles brighter than the sun itself. "Yeah! I can't wait!"

They talk some more, reminiscing about that fateful summer, and as the hours tick by their eyelids begin to grow heavy. Mabel finally succumbs to sleep and her head finds its place on Dipper's shoulder. Dipper, always the more aware and paranoid of the two, fights to stay awake as his eyes scan the wilderness outside. The trees are starting to grow taller and thicker as they pass by, and he knows that they are in the heart of Oregon now, surrounded by pine trees and big log cabins. It won't be much longer until they finally arrive, and it's this thought that keeps him awake and enlivened until they get there.

It's early in the evening when Dipper notices a very familiar mansion towering in the distance. He releases an excited squeak and shakes Mabel awake, who groggily wipes her eyes and brushes her hair out of her face before Dipper tugs her sleeve and points out the window.

"Look, look! It's the Northwest's mansion!" Dipper pauses thoughtfully. "Well, not anymore. It's McGucket's now, right?"

"Uh-huh!" Mabel nods, now wide awake and jittering from excitement.

"And there's the water tower!" Dipper gestures, jumping up and down. "We're getting close!"

"Oh my gosh!" Mabel bubbles, gathering Waddles up into her arms. "We're almost there, Waddles! We'll get to see everyone again!"

The pig squeals and presses his wet nose against her cheek, making her giggle.

Dipper reaches down and begins to gather his things, making sure to place his new journal back into his luggage securely. He'd gotten it as a gift from Ford, who'd told him to use it for whatever he wanted, whether it be for academic purposes, scientific investigations or a personal outlet for anything troubling him. He'd only started writing in it recently, deciding to use it to document the events of the upcoming summer, starting off by writing a journal entry about returning to Gravity Falls and wondering what kind of things he'll experience this time.

The thing he treasures most about the journal is that it looks identical to the ones Ford used to have, except on the cover is a golden pine tree with a one on it instead of a six-fingered hand. Mabel had received one as well with a shooting star symbol on the front, and she'd already decorated it with glitter and stickers. Ford promised them that when they finished writing in these he'd make them another one, and Dipper is sure that if this summer will be any similar to the last he'll probably have three journals lined up before it ends easily.

Eventually the bus finally slows to a stop. Mabel lets out an high pitched squeal before quickly scooping up her things and bolting for the bus door, Waddles on her heels. Dipper trips on his way down the isles, pleading for Mabel to _just wait a second for me to catch up!_ The doors creak open and the twins practically fly down the steps and out onto the empty road. The bus driver watches them, totally befuddled as to why they're to hyped about coming to Gravity Falls of all places—what a boring town!—and, shrugging, slowly drives away.

Dipper looks around and frowns a little. There's nobody around and he can't help but feel disappointed. Sure, he didn't expect some kind of huge welcome back party, but at least somebody, _Stan_ could have—

He doesn't get to mope for long before two hands come up to cover the siblings' eyes. He feels a warm body near his back and his heart flutters when a voice whispers quietly into their ears, "Welcome back~"

Dipper and Mabel immediately grin, turn around and tackle the person behind them.

" _Wendy_!"

"Hey, nerds!" Wendy grins and hugs them both tight, giving Dipper a good noogie before releasing them. They don't get to breathe for very long before they're swept into another embrace and a jovial laugh fills their ears.

"Soos!" The twins chorus together as the Mr. Mystery dressed man smiles at them affectionately.

"Good to have you back, dudes!" Soos says, straightening the fez on top of his head before bowing formally, "The Mystery Shack awaits! Wait 'till you guys see what I've done with it!"

"We can't wait," Dipper tells him sincerely, finally being set back down on the ground with his sister.

Mabel looks around curiously, her head swiveling back and forth. "Hey, where's—"

"Kids!"

Mabel shrieks in delight and throws herself at Stanley, who catches her with a surprised but happy grunt and proceeds to spin her around. Dipper launches himself into Stan's side and the old man laughs joyfully, locking his arms around their shoulders.

"Ahh, I thought I'd never say this, but I'm glad to see you nuisances!"

"Grunkle Stan," Mabel chastises, but is unable to wipe the overjoyed grin off of her face.

Dipper laughs and pats his uncle's arm until Stan finally lets him go. The teen's eyes flit about curiously.

"Where's Grunkle Ford?"

Stan makes an annoyed face. "Ah, yeah, he had to step out for a bit...something about checking on some bunker. He said he's sorry he can't be here to meet you, but he'll be back a little later tonight."

Dipper relaxes and nods in understanding. He knows Ford would probably give anything to welcome them back, but it had been quite a while since he'd checked on the bunker, seeing as he just got back to Gravity Falls and he didn't leave the task up to Fiddleford. It's dangerous down there and Dipper knows Ford had gone to make sure everything was in order and nothing evil escaped. He recalls the shapeshifter with a shudder and wonders if Ford has found out about its frozen state yet.

"I can't believe him, honestly," Stan sighs, looking agitated. The twins can see through that facade, though, and they realize his voice has an underlying tone of pure affection. "He picks the worst times to go frolicking off. Well, whatever! We'll go back to the Shack and have our party without him."

Stan looks down at Dipper and blinks in surprise. "Is it just me or did you get taller?"

Dipper puffs out his chest proudly and Mabel pouts.

"Yeah! He suddenly popped up like a weed and now he's taller than me!" She complained, sticking out her lower lip. Dipper snickers at her misfortune.

Stan shakes his head fondly at them. "You squirts are growing up too fast for me to keep up with. Anyway, let's go!" He swings Mabel up onto his shoulders, and she becomes a ball of giggles and sunshine. Soos grabs her things while Wendy grabs Dipper's, but not before she switches hats with him.

"We'll trade again at the end of this summer, alright?" She says, tugging the bill of his cap down over his eyes.

Dipper straightens it, beaming at the sight of the familiar pine tree cap he'd worn all last summer. It's good to wear it again.

They trek back to the Shack, voices raised loudly in jovial song and merry laughter. The sun is setting and it makes the forest sing with color, bathing it in soft hues of orange and yellow. Dipper feels extremely nostalgic as he walks along, inhaling the familiar scents of the forest and watching birds fly overhead. He really had missed this place over the last year. He can't even begin to describe how good it feels to come back.

Eventually the old house comes into view. It still looks the same as always, though the giant S in Shack has been tacked back up and a few more signs decorate the outside, courtesy of Soos. Stan lets Mabel down and she bolts for the front door, throwing it open and shouting, " _We're baaaaaack!_ " to whoever is inside.

They all crowd into the gift shop and Stan is smiling widely, eyes glittering in excitement. The twins regard him curiously before suddenly a party popper goes off in the living room and there's a myriad of voices replying, "Welcome back!"

Mabel and Dipper look at each other for a moment, smile, and race into the living room. They're greeted with streamers and lights and tons of people calling their names, all smushed together in the tiny space. Mabel almost cries when Grenda and Candy come to embrace her, and Dipper waves to Pacifica and Gideon, who are chatting idly in the corner. Susan is there, who seems to be flirting with Fiddleford, and Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durlin are making goo goo eyes at each other by the TV. Mayor Tyler is egging on Thomson with Nate and Lee ("Get it, get it!") and Robbie and Tambry hold hands as they chat with Toby and Shandra. All of them cheerfully say hello to the twins as they make their way around the room.

"Alright, alright," Stan declares loudly, effectively silencing everyone in the room, including the chanting of, "Thomson! Thomson!"

Mabel stares, transfixed, at Stan. Her eyes narrow. Dipper watches her, slightly confused. Why is she looking at him with such an intensity?

Stan glares at everyone. "All of you are making a mess of my living room, so get out!"

Soos steps in, sweating a little. "What Mr. Pines meant to say was, the real party is in the floor room, dudes and lady dudes! Right this way," and he leads everyone out, Melody following behind him. She waves to the twins as she passes.

"Okay, kids," Stan says, crossing his arms. "Go get your stuff unpacked and then you can go have fun or whatever."

"Okay!" They both chime before rushing out to get their things before taking the stairs two at a time. Stan watches them go and chuckles.

As soon as they're in their room, Mabel throws her stuff onto the bed in a messy heap and practically screams. Dipper winces as he starts to organize his things. Waddles ignores his owner's craziness and hops up onto her bed, curling into a neat ball and falling asleep.

"What are you freaking out about now?" Dipper asks, flipping open the pages of his crisp new journal. He knows now probably isn't the best time to write in it since there's a party waiting downstairs in his honor, but he wants to record things in the moment, as he goes.

"Did you see it?" Mabel whispers harshly, her eyes bulging. "Did you _see_ it?!"

Dipper sighs. "See what, Mabel?"

Mabel releases an aggravated groan.

"His hand, Dipper! Grunkle Stan's _hand_!" She explains, vibrating with excitement.

The brunette boy frowns. "What about his hand?" It didn't look any different than usual to him. Had he missed something important? A new battle scar, perhaps?

"Oh my gosh you are so _blind_!" Mabel wails, smacking his shoulder playfully. "Dipper, I'm talking about the ring! Grunkle Stan has a ring on his finger!"

"A ring," Dipper repeats dumbly. "So...?"

Mabel yells and shakes him violently. "It's a _wedding ring_ , you dummy! Grunkle Stan got _married_!"

Dipper shakes his head to clear the sudden nausea his twin gave him and gawks. "Wait, a we—? But—that doesn't make any sense! Grunkle Stan got married? To _who_? And why didn't he tell us anything about it?"

"I don't know!" The girl responds, waving her arms frantically. "But this is important, Dipper! I had plans to get our Grunkles some girlfriends and or boyfriends this summer, and now Grunkle Stan just ruined everything!"

Dipper backs away when Mabel turns to him with a dangerous gleam in her eye. "We _have_ to find out who he got married to."

"I don't know, Mabel," Dipper says sheepishly, "don't you think Grunkle Stan is planning on telling us sooner or later? Why go snooping around when we can just ask him about it?"

"Because, Dipper! Think of it this way. Grunkle Stan never mentioned anything about getting married while we were video chatting, so maybe he doesn't want us to find out. It's a mystery! Last summer we had to solve the mystery of Gravity Falls' secrets, and this summer we're going to discover who Grunkle Stan eloped with!"

Dipper can't help but smile a little at this declaration. "Eloped, huh?"

Mabel settles down onto her bed. "Well, yeah! He must have met a pretty lady while he and Grunkle Ford were traveling at sea and eloped with her! Maybe she's at the party. Oh, maybe Grunkle Ford will know more about it!" She deflates a little. "But he won't be back until later...so I guess we'll have to go searching every person at the party and see who has a matching wedding ring!"

Dipper chuckles. "You're crazy."

"We'll see who's crazy!" Mabel shoots back. She is bubbling with energy. "Oooh, this is so exciting! It's a love mystery! A mystery of love! A thrilling tale of romance and secrets!"

"Okay, love expert," Dipper says, closing his journal on his newest entry. "Let's go find out who our Grunkle got married to."

"Yeah!"

* * *

 

They get downstairs and the party is already in full swing. They're unsurprised to see that newcomers have to pay to get in, unlike all of the others who'd been invited to surprise them. Soos' grandmother is maintaining the makeshift box office, showing no mercy when it comes to customers. Soos himself is manning the lights and sound, having improved a lot since the previous summer when it comes to being a DJ. Melody sits beside him and nods her head to the beat, looking happy and carefree. Wendy is drinking punch by the snack table and waves them over.

"Hey, guys. I was wondering where you went. This is your party, after all," she says, blinking when she notices Mabel's determined expression.

"What's up, Mabel? You look pretty serious. Something the matter?"

"We're on a mission!" The young teen states boldly, putting her hands on her hips.

"We're trying to find out who Grunkle Stan eloped with," Dipper adds helpfully.

Wendy stares at them for a moment before smiling mischievously.

"Ohh, okay," she hums.

"Do you know who it is, Wendy?" Dipper asks in a hopeful tone. The redhead chuckles.

"Sorry man, but I promised your uncle I wouldn't say anything," she apologizes before zipping her lips and throwing away the key. "Don't worry, though. You'll like them a lot. They're really cool."

"Awww," Mabel whines in defeat. Dipper pats her back reassuringly and thanks Wendy before they move on to their next target: Soos and Melody. Melody is smart so she might not tell them, but there's a good chance Soos will slip up and admit the truth. He's always been bad at keeping secrets, and his admiration for Stan could be used to their advantage.

"Hey, Soos!" Mabel hops up to the stage and taps on the older man's shoulder. Soos pulls off his headphones and grins at them.

"Hey, dudes! How're you liking your party?"

"It's great, Soos," Dipper tells him. He shuffles his feet and tries not to appear sly, "Actually, we have a question..."

"Who did Grunkle Stan get married to?!" Mabel jumps in before he can finish. Dipper shoots her a disapproving glare to which she ignores.

Soos looks away, bashful. "Aw, dudes, I wish I could tell you, but..."

"Please, Soos," Dipper tries to reason, "We promise we won't tell Stan you told us."

"Yeah! We're good at keeping secrets!" Mabel pipes up.

Soos looks at their pleading gazes and his lower lip trembles. "Come on guys, stop it! You know how easy it is to guilt trip me, especially when you make the puppy dog faces..."

Mabel and Dipper simultaneously stick out their lower lips and flutter their eyelashes at him.

"No, no!" Soos shakes his head. "I can't tell you! I swore on my ownership of the Mystery Shack. There's no way I'm giving that up, even if it's for you dudes!"

The twins look to Melody next, who throws up her hands in defense.

"Sorry guys. Soos is technically my boss and if he makes it an order not to tell you I have to follow it," she shrugs.

"Strike two," Dipper sighs as he and Mabel trudge away from the stage and into Plan C, looking for any potential spouses in the crowd.

"We can't give up yet! I'm going to find out who it is even if it takes me _all summer_."The shorter twin proclaims.

"Mabel, you have to be more tactical about this," Dipper tells her sternly. "You can't go out and straight up ask who he married. You have to be sneaky about it!"

Mabel follows him back to the snack table. Wendy is dancing with her friends nearby, having finished her business there. Dipper fills a cup with punch and gulps it down thirstily.

"Oh yeah? And how am I supposed to be sneaky, huh?"

"Well, I was _going_ to ask Soos about Stan's ring. That way he might have told us Stan got married and then further gotten into the details of the wedding, maybe even telling us who he got married _to_."

Mabel ponders this for a moment before frowning. "Oh, yeah. I guess you're right."

Dipper stands up a little taller and smirks. "Now who's the alpha twin?"

"Hey! That's not fair!" Mabel swipes his cup and finishes it in one swig, wiping her mouth with her sweater sleeve.

"Hey, that was mine!" Dipper protests.

The girl sticks her tongue out at him. "Too bad!"

Instead of getting angry, Dipper just laughs. Mabel stops and then starts laughing with him. After everything they'd been though, it's hard for them to stay mad at each other. They're closer now than ever and they doubt anything could break their closely intertwined relationship apart, even if they end up with separate people.

"Okay, okay. Round three," Dipper says, scanning the crowd. "Maybe we should split up, cover more ground."

"You're the man with the plan, bro bro!" Mabel pats him on the shoulder before shooting off into the throng of people, shouting over her shoulder, "Whoever finds out first wins!"

Dipper smiles and heads in the opposite direction.

* * *

 

Mabel doesn't have to wander around too much before she bumps into familiar people.

"Oh, hello there," Lazy Susan greets, patting her on the head. Fiddleford stands next to her, twiddling his thumbs nervously. He seems even better than the last time she'd seen him, right after Weirdmaggedon. Apparently most of his sanity had returned after the whole event, and he looks more civilized with his trimmed beard and fancy clothes from his mansion.

"Hi, Lazy Susan! Can I hold your hand for a second?" Mabel asks and, without waiting for a response, snatches up Susan's left hand and inspects her fingers. There's baubles and fake jewelry, but nothing that looks genuinely like a wedding ring. She moves on to Fiddleford, who is openly fidgeting with his hands, and sees that he's wearing nothing on them.

"Question! Do either of you two know who my Grunkle Stan got married to?" She asks, and Susan shakes her head. Fiddleford chuckles nervously and looks away. Mabel is zeroed in on him in seconds.

"Mr. McGucket," she sings.

"Sorry, sweetie pie. I've been asked to keep my mouth shut," he apologizes sincerely.

"Darn it! Has Stan told _everybody_ here to keep quiet?" Mabel stomps her foot. "Aghhhh! Well I'm not giving up! I _will_ find out the truth!"

Fiddleford and Susan watch as she vanishes amongst the sea of partiers once more.

"Say, Fidds, would you care for a dance?" Susan asks him nonchalantly.

His cheeks flush and he nods. "Sure!"

* * *

 

It doesn't take Dipper very long to run into the man of the hour.

Stan is chatting it up with Shandra, who is furiously scribbling away on a small notepad. She hangs onto his every word, wanting to get all of the details from the hero who saved the world.

Dipper puffs out his chest, puts his serious face on, and stalks over to his great uncle.

"Grunkle Stan," he starts, eyes immediately flickering to Stan's left hand—and yes, there's a ring there. It's gold and simplistic in design, but it suits him very well. It shines faintly under the party lights.

"Ah, there you are, kiddo!" Stan ruffles his hair affectionately.

"I was wondering," Dipper cracks a smile and quickly flattens his hair back, "When did you get that ring?"

Stan lifts his hand and the ring sparkles.

Shandra is immediately all over him with questions.

"Mr. Pines, is that a wedding ring I see? Who on earth could the hero of Gravity Falls gotten married to?"

Dipper frowns at her persistent questions.

_She's ruining everything!_ He thinks, dismayed. There's no chance Stan will admit the truth when a very popular news anchor is nearby.

Stan shoots him a knowing look.

"I figured you'd come asking me about it in a sneaky way," Stan sighs. "You're getting more like my nerdy brother every day. Well, sorry kid, but I'm not sayin' a word."

"But Gru—"

"Normally I'd say it isn't your business," Stan cuts him off. "But you are my family. Well...I'll tell you more about it later. Now go on! This party is for you; don't waste your time trying to find out more about me. Go and have some fun for a change."

Dipper walks away, defeated. If there's anyone more stubborn than he is it's his Grunkles, especially Stan. But his curiosity is spilling over, and he wants to know now! He throws himself into the crowd, desperately searching the hands and fingers of anyone he passes by, seeing flashes of silver and emerald but there's no simple gold rings that match with Stan's. He starts getting frustrated but there's no way he's going to lose this race to Mabel. It's common for them to compete, even in simple things, and both of them hate losing.

"I'll find out who it is first," Dipper promises himself as he sneaks a glance at Fiddleford and Susan's hands as he passes by them. They're dancing together, and Susan is laughing obnoxiously, but Fiddleford doesn't seem to mind at all as he stares at her dreamily.

Dipper shakes his head, mystified, and moves on.

* * *

 

"Mabel! There you are!"

Mabel finishes chugging down another cup of punch and turns to see her best friends waiting for her. Her face lights up.

"Grenda! Candy!"

"We have been looking for you everywhere!" Candy says.

"Yeah! It's no party without _you_ , Mabel!" Grenda shouts eagerly, still not good at controlling her volume.

Mabel giggles with them before she regards them suspiciously.

"Say, _girls_ ," she drawls, batting her eyes innocently, "you're, like, my best friends, right?"

Grenda and Candy look at each other, confused, before they nod.

"So...you'd never keep any _secrets_ from me or anything, right?"

Grenda still looks clueless but Candy catches on to what she's talking about.

"Sorry, Mabel," Candy grins sheepishly. "I would definitely tell you if your uncle did not pay us in advance to keep our lips zipped."

Grenda nods. "Yeah! We got _bribed_!"

"What?!" Mabel shrieks in disbelief. "My cheapskate uncle _paid_ you to not tell me anything?!"

"There is one thing that we girls value more above the girl code," Candy withdraws a wad of bills from her purse. Mabel's eyes bulge.

"Yeah! Boys!" Grenda yells.

"N...no, Grenda," Candy shakes her head. "Money. Money that we can spend on boy band merchandise!"

"Oh. Right! Money forever!" The tough girl agrees.

"How much is that?" The brunette squeaks.

"Fifty dollars," Candy answers, flipping through the stack of bills. "He just gave them to us in ones."

" _Fifty_ ones!"

"Oh my gosh," Mabel breathes. "If Grunkle Stan was willing to spend one-hundred dollars on you guys then he _really_ doesn't want us to find out."

"I will give you a hint, since we are besties," Candy comments, leaning in close to whisper in Mabel's ear, "They are somebody you already know. Do not look too deep into it! It is more obvious than you think."

"Somebody I already know, huh..." Mabel muses.

"Well, good luck on finding out who it is!" Candy waves to her as she drags Grenda back out onto the dance floor.

Mabel sighs and shoves a couple of gummy bears into her mouth before marching off once more.

* * *

 

Dipper isn't having any luck on his side.

He'd already asked Pacifica and Gideon, who both said they actually weren't told who Stan eloped with (though Gideon mentioned he had a large suspicion it was a man, and Pacifica had asked him why he was so concerned with the love life of a "crusty old man" anyway). He feels like he's at the end of his rope here, and already the party is coming to a close. People are leaving in hoards and he barely has time to inspect them all before they're out the door. Part of him is upset he didn't get to enjoy his party more, but he realizes there will be countless more over the summer and his current mission is way more important.

Dipper collapses into a chair, exhaling softly. There's still a couple people mingling about, but for the most part the floor room has been cleared out and Soos is already sweeping up little bits of confetti and food.

The chair next to him squeaks and Dipper hides a relieved smile when Mabel sighs, looking defeated. It seems she didn't find out anything of interest, either.

"No luck?"

"Nope. But I did get a couple hints," Mabel says, playing with a lock of her hair.

"Me too," Dipper responds. "Gideon told me that it was probably a man."

Mabel smiles at this. "I always thought Grunkle Stan was bisexual!"

"And what about you?"

"Mmm," she hums. "Candy and Grenda told me it's somebody we know. And Wendy said that we'll like whoever it is."

Dipper shakes his head, completely mystified. "I just can't figure it out! Everyone makes it seem so obvious. Are we missing something?"

"Who knows," Mabel groans, throwing her head back. "But I don't want to think about it anymore. Let's just wait for Grunkle Ford to get back and then go to sleep. We can investigate more tomorrow."

"Okay." Dipper offers his hand and Mabel takes it. He pulls her out of the chair and together they walk into the gift shop, where Stan is cheerfully dusting a couple knick knacks on the counter.

"You kids look exhausted," he comments casually as they shuffle by. "What, did you get hit by a bus or something?"

Mabel sticks her tongue out at him. "We've been trying to find out who _you_ got married to!"

To their immense surprise, Stan blushes a little. "You're still hung up about that? Geez, you guys are persistent. What's the big deal, anyway?"

"Big deal? It's marriage, Grunkle Stan! One of the most important things that can happen to a person in their life! And you're one of the most important people to us, so of course we're upset you haven't said anything about it!" Mabel whines.

Stan softens at her obvious show of betrayal. "Hey, hey. Don't look so down. There's a reason I didn't tell you. Soos and Wendy got pretty mad when I showed up and told them I got hitched. If I could've, I totally would've invited you kids to be there. But circumstances being what they are, well..."

"Just tell us already!" Dipper demands.

Stan glances away, uncomfortable, but before he can admit to it the gift shop door creaks open.

"I'm back..."

"Grunkle Ford!"

"Ford!"

Ford is tackled by all three of them at once, and he is almost knocked over by their weight. Instead he steadies himself on his feet and laughs joyfully.

"Kids! It's so good to see you." He gently pinches the twins' cheeks, who giggle.

"How was the bunker, Grunkle Ford?"

"Oh, that? The same, the same." Ford waves his hand dismissively. "I'm more interested in what you kids have been getting up to all year."

"We have so much to tell you, Grunkle Ford!" Mabel chirps brightly.

"Well, I can't wait to hear it all," Ford beams. Their reunion is interrupted when Stan circles around him, eyebrows drawn up in concern.

"You didn't do anything stupid and get hurt, did you?"

Ford's face immediately softens and his eyes are full of nothing but adoration. "Of course not. I took all the necessary precautions before I went in."

"You're all dirty," Stan complains, gently brushing away a smudge of dust on Ford's cheek. The twins watch in complete fascination as Ford flushes beautifully.

"I-it has been a while since anyone's been down there," he squeaks timidly. "But I promise this isn't from anything dangerous."

Stan blows out a breath and looks at his brother meaningfully. "I'm glad you made it back okay. Sorry I couldn't be there with you."

Ford smiles, and it's the most shy and adorable thing. "Stanley..."

Mabel releases a loud scream that nearly shatters their eardrums. Dipper looks over to her, panicked, and stops when he realizes she's practically vibrating with excitement.

"Oh my gosh oh my gosh _oh my gosh_!" She squeals, her voice rising in pitch. "I can't believe this! All along—it was _you_ , Grunkle Ford!"

Ford looks at her strangely. "What?"

Dipper appears to be as equally puzzled. "What are you talking about, Mabel?"

"There, there!" Mabel points to Ford's hand, where there is a sparkling gold ring around his middle finger...and it looks identical to the one Stan is wearing.

Dipper gasps dramatically. "Grunkle Stan eloped with _you_?!"

Immediately both of the older Pines twins' cheeks turn bright pink. Ford looks very bashful while Stanley chews his lip, beyond embarrassed.

"I can't believe this! My Grunkles married each other! That's so _cute_!" Mabel cries, jumping up and down.

"See why I was so hesitant to tell ya?" Stan mumbles. "I...well, we weren't exactly sure how you'd react, so..."

"We had you go ask around so you'd get used to the idea," Ford jumps in. "Everyone else was shocked too, at first. But eventually they accepted it. Tell me, how surprised are you to hear this?"

Dipper pauses thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it, not really."

"We had everyone drop hints to help you adapt to the whole concept easier," Stan continues. "We wanted to make sure it wasn't a complete surprise, and that you...wouldn't hate us for it."

"Aww, Grunkle Stan! We could never hate you!" Mabel coos before wrapping her arms around his waist. Stan breathes a sigh of relief and pets her hair.

"I get it," Dipper says, his eyes bright with understanding. "Wendy said we'd like whoever it was. And it's true, we both really love Grunkle Ford." Ford chuckles shyly at this, scratching the back of his head. "Candy and Grenda told us it's somebody we know really well, which is also correct. And Gideon said it's a man. They were trying to help us!"

"So...you're not upset?" Stan asks hesitantly.

"No, no! Now I get why you didn't say anything. You were afraid we'd reject you, right?" Mabel asks innocently. Stan nods.

"Silly Grunkle Stan! We'll love you no matter what happens!" She decides, laughing.

"See, Stanley? I told you they'd be okay with it." Ford grins, coming to interlock his fingers with Stan's.

"You said that? I thought _you_ were the one who was terrified of the kids rejecting you," Stan snorts, but squeezes Ford's hand anyway.

Mabel squeals loudly again, and they can practically see the hearts dancing in her eyes.

"So how was the wedding? Where did you go? Did you do anything special? Did you do it on the boat? Or did you do it on land? Did somebody—"

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy there, kiddo," Stan waves his free hand back and forth in an attempt to calm her down.

"Sorry! I just have so many questions!" She bounces on the balls of her feet.

"It was short 'n sweet. We had it done off the coast of Italy." Stan tells them.

"Italy? Wow! Did you actually go there?" Dipper is the one to take initiative and ask questions this time.

"We stopped by to resupply, but no, we didn't actually go sightseeing," Ford answers, unable to keep the pleased smile off his face.

"How long ago was this, anyway?"

"Ah..." Ford pauses to think. "A couple months ago? Maybe?"

"Don't be like that, Ford. I know for a fact that you have the exact date memorized and you've been counting the days ever since."

Ford's cheeks turn pink and he beams. "March fifth. It's been exactly two months and twenty-six days."

"But we video chatted with you after that," Dipper realizes. "Wait...are you saying you've been wearing the rings the entire time, and we just didn't notice until now?"

"I suppose so, yes."

"Wow! I feel stupid!" Mabel laughs, sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth.

"You shoulda been there, kids. Ford couldn't stop crying the entire time!" Stan sniggers, and is cut off abruptly when Ford elbows him in the ribs.

"Look who's talking! You barely made it through your marriage vows you were sobbing so much," Ford counters. Stan stammers and starts to object weakly.

"Aw man! I would give anything to see it!" Mabel cries out, grabbing fistfuls of her hair and pulling.

" _Well_..."

Stan looks over to Ford, surprised. "Sixer, are you tellin' me that you recorded the entire thing?"

Ford laughs nervously. "Uh, I may or may not have installed a secret camera before the ceremony began..."

"Stanford Pines!" Stan barks.

"Oh, come on, Stanley! There's no way I wouldn't want to document something as vital and precious as our wedding," Ford's voice slowly grows softer towards the end, betraying his embarrassment and joy towards the whole ordeal.

" _Eeeeeee_! You two are so cute I can hardly stand it!" Mabel looks like she's about to explode. Dipper shoots her a concerned look, worried that her fangirling has escalated to a dangerous level.

"Alright, alright. You've had your fun, now go to bed," Stan ushers them over to the stairs. They go reluctantly.

"Do we have to?"

"Yes," Ford agrees, though his expression is kind. "If you go now, I promise we can watch our wedding video tomorrow."

" _Okay_! Goodnight Grunkle Ford, Grunkle Stan! We love you, see you tomorrow!" Mabel shouts before taking ahold of Dipper's wrist and practically dragging him up to their room.

Ford can't help but laugh as they disappear from view. Stan smiles and moves to embrace him from behind, nuzzling his nose into the base of Ford's hairline.

"Scared the shit outta me, running off to the bunker like that," he mumbles.

Ford curls his arms around Stan's and hums softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you, it's just...I haven't checked on it in a while, and I wasn't sure the shapeshifter was still there as it should be..."

Stan arches an eyebrow. "Shapeshifter?"

"Yes, I thought I told you about it?"

"Hmm," Stan muses. "I might have zoned out while you did. Either that or I was...distracted with other things." Ford flushes at the implication.

"Come on, Poindexter. Bed time."

Ford nods and together they ascend the stairs, hand in hand. Their rings shine faintly in the moonlight.

After they get dressed for bed, they curl up in each other's arms under the covers.

"I didn't expect Mabel to be so excited about us," Ford admits quietly in the darkness.

"Me neither. She looked like she just won the lottery or somethin'."

Ford chuckles. "She's a great kid. Dipper, too. We're lucky to have them around."

"Yeah."

Ford stares at the ring on his finger, smiling affectionately. "I just...whenever I look at this, I get immensely happy."

"Oh yeah?" Stan grins crookedly. "I dunno, I get pretty giddy when I look at mine, but..." He leans close, brushing his lips across Ford's forehead softly. "I get an even bigger rush when I see you wearing my ring."

Ford releases a very timid squeak, glad that the darkness is masking the warm flush to his cheeks.

"Part of me kinda wishes we had the kids there with us, but I doubt their parents would let us pull them out of school for a couple weeks, even if we did make up some sorry excuse as to why." Stan whispers softly.

"Yes...seeing as you hardly kept in touch with any of our family members over the last thirty years."

"Hey! You didn't do a great job of that either, if I recall," he answers bitterly.

Ford frowns and scoots in closer to shyly nuzzle his nose against Stan's.

"I know. I'm sorry," he apologizes, voice meek. Stan sighs and shakes his head, leaning in to press gentle kisses all over his twin's face.

"Goodnight, Stanley."

"'Night, Ford. Love you."

Ford's lips twitch upwards in a smile. "I love you too."

* * *

 

"Dipper...Dipper!"

"Huhwhat?" Dipper awakes groggily, wiping the drool off from the side of his mouth and blearily looking around.

"Wake up!" It's Mabel who's prodding at his side insistently, her brown eyes bright in the gloom.

"Mabel," Dipper groans, trying and failing to pull himself into a sitting position, "what're you doing? It's not even light out yet!"

"Shh, come on! We don't have much time," Mabel pleads, tugging on his sleeve. Dipper relents and, with an exhausted sigh, drags himself out of bed and stands waiting as Mabel roots around in her luggage.

"Remind me again why you decided to wake me up at..." He glances at the digital clock sitting on his bedside table, "5:30 in the morning?"

Mabel turns to him, holding up a camera. At the sight of it, he regards her curiously.

"A camera?"

Mabel giggles madly. "Yeah! Come on, Grunkle Ford will wake up soon and I don't want to miss this."

Dipper follows her out of their room and across the hallway, making sure to keep their footsteps extremely light. They tiptoe right up to Stan's bedroom door.

"Why are we sneaking into Stan's room?" Dipper whispers as Mabel pushes the door open as quietly as she can.

"Shh," she holds a finger to her lips and points. "Look!"

Dipper peeks in and beholds the sight of his Grunkles curled up on the bed together. Stan is snoring lightly, one of his arms thrown protectively over Ford's shoulder. Ford is snuggled into Stan's neck, breathing softly. Their limbs are entangled as they sleep, completely unaware of their audience.

" _So cute_ ," Mabel whispers, grinning like the sun.

"You woke me up this early just so you could come in here and take pictures?" Dipper hisses, feeling slightly nervous about invading on his great uncles' privacy.

"Exactly!" Mabel whips out her camera and starts snapping away. Dipper shakes his head in disbelief but doesn't move from his spot. It's actually very sweet to see Stan and Ford act this close after all of the hardship and tough times they'd been through together.

_They deserve it_ , he thinks.

And when morning arrives and the four of them settle down in the living room to watch their wedding video (Stan becomes very flustered and embarrassed while Ford just laughs it off), Dipper can hardly wait to see what kind of things this new summer will bring now that his family has become closer than ever.

**Author's Note:**

> First time posting a GF story, go me! I actually have tons more that I've written and never finished, not to mention all the multi-chapter Stancest AUs I have planned out...(who knows if I'll actually finish them though lol).
> 
> This oneshot was actually tons of fun for me to write, haha. Sadly it doesn’t focus on the Stan twins as much as I’d hope but they have some cute moments in there towards the end! Also, sorry about the summary being in past tense and the story being in present. It just turned out that way, I guess //shrugs
> 
> There's actually a couple easter eggs I put in here...I wonder if you'll be able to catch them all~?  
> Welly well, I hope you guys liked it! And with this I make my grand entrance into the Stancest writer community...//sweats nervously


End file.
